Dillon Heatherington finished his rookie pro season by helping the Monsters win their first ever Calder Cup and putting up 3-16-19 in 63 total games played. Dillon was a constant in the Monsters lineup – he was out for two games in a row only twice: once in the playoffs (games one and two of the Calder Cup Finals). The year before, Heatherington had played just about a third of his final season in Swift Current due to injury and playing for Team Canada in the World Junior Championships. He went 1-14-15 in 48 WHL games and earned one assist in the three games he had in Springfield after the Broncos season ended.
Dillon is a big stay at home defenseman who works best when paired with a offensive defenseman who can go off and join the rush. Dillon was paired with Dean Kukan and Zach Werenski in the later rounds of the playoffs after pairing with ex Monster(Jacket) Michael Paliotta in the first round. Dillon was second on the Monsters in plus minus while tying Jamie Sifers for third in scoring among Monsters dmen. Offense isn’t Dillon’s forte – of his 19 points last year, he garnered only three multi point games and his longest point streak was just three games where he collected four assists.
Future Outlook
Aaron Portzline lists Dillon among a group of six defenseman (Dean Kukan, Scott Harrington Dalton Prout, Cody Goloubef, Zach Werenski) who are in a battle for the seventh defenseman spot. Barring injuries in camp, I expect Dillon to be back in Cleveland as a fixture in the Monsters top four if not on the top pair. He should also start playing in all situations or at least be guaranteed a lot of penalty kill time.
Age: 21 (5-9-1986)
Position: Defense
Shoots: Left
Height/Weight: 6’4″ 220
2015/16 Team: Lake Erie Monsters (AHL)
Likely 2016/17 Destination: Cleveland Monsters (AHL)
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